This restoration is part of the African Film Heritage Project, an initiative created by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, the FEPACI and UNESCO – in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna – to help locate, restore and disseminate African cinema. The reality of Amílcar Cabral’s death began to invade my consciousness, surreptitiously and insidiously. The idea of killing comrade Cabral seemed surreal to me. I absurdly refused to believe that idea, but the incessant fighting everywhere brought me back to reality: the combatant’s anger at the death of his chief was expressed. In Conakry, at the PAIGC [African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde] General Secretariat, as soon as we arrived, our team of four filmmakers had a meeting with Amílcar Cabral’s widow, comrade Ana-Maria. She described to us the last journey she made with her husband before they returned home at night. The car they were traveling in was still at the scene of the tragedy, with a bullet hole in one of the doors. The brownish stain of Cabral’s blood stained the ground. Ana Maria told us that Amílcar Cabral absolutely refused to be tied up, with his hands on his back, and even more so to be taken to Bissau, as his murderers wanted. On the contrary, Amílcar Cabral vehemently insisted that they come with him to his office for a serious conversation. Even after he had been shot the first time, he still wanted to know what was going on and why. I no longer remember what happened to me that day, nor do I know how I got to Dakar. All I know is that, while still in Conakry, I declined the invitation to attend the trial of Amílcar Cabral’s murderers.

Sana na N’Hada interviewed by Marta Lança, “Buala”, 17 March 2025